


i won't be too far

by KelseyO



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, don't look at me, it's officially been a week, laura/carmilla centric with mentions of danny, still haven't closed my ep 36 tab, takes place during the episode 36 credits, this took me SO LONG
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-09
Packaged: 2018-02-28 19:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2744696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelseyO/pseuds/KelseyO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She’s about to dare herself to find the hem of Carmilla’s shirt when the hands on her hips lift back to her jaw to gently separate their mouths. Carmilla’s eyes are searching hers now and the playfulness of the last several minutes is gone, and Laura’s breath catches in her throat. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“Laura,” she says softly, swiping the pad of her thumb along Laura’s cheek, “you’re crying.”</p><p>(Takes place during the episode 36 credits. Title from "Time to Mend" by Barcelona.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	i won't be too far

“So you’re a giant black cat, huh?”

She doesn’t even know why she asks the question, because as Carmilla shrugs and takes a breath to give Laura what’s sure to be a vague and ultimately useless response, Laura takes a step forward and wraps her arms around the back of Carmilla’s neck and presses their mouths together again.

There’s a soft groan from Carmilla’s half of the kiss and Laura freezes. “Wait, are you okay? We literally just acknowledged that you’re hurt but you never really gave me a—”

Carmilla’s lips capture the rest of her sentence, and then she rests her forehead against Laura’s. “Never been better, sweetheart,” she purrs, slipping her thumbs into Laura’s belt loops and pulling her closer until there’s no space between them at all, and the whole thing is, like, a _revelation_.

Laura stands on her tiptoes to try to get level with Carmilla, but who is she kidding, she’s practically melting into the dorm room floor. “You should lie down,” she says when she manages to suck in some oxygen.

“Should I?” Carmilla chuckles into the next kiss.

“Yes,” Laura replies as matter-of-factly as she can when her heart is beating this fast, and she’s actually a little surprised when she gently nudges Carmilla backward and doesn’t meet any resistance; then Carmilla’s on her back and Laura’s thinking about how vertical kissing is great but horizontal kissing is pretty extraordinary, and she could double-check that their door is closed but she’d really rather just keep making out with her roommate, honestly.

She’s about to dare herself to find the hem of Carmilla’s shirt when the hands on her hips lift back to her jaw to gently separate their mouths. Carmilla’s eyes are searching hers now and the playfulness of the last several minutes is gone, and Laura’s breath catches in her throat. “What’s wrong?”

“Laura,” she says softly, swiping the pad of her thumb along Laura’s cheek, “you’re crying.”

She blinks and shakes her head. “Wh—? No, I’m not,” she argues, leaning in for another kiss.

Carmilla indulges her, but only for a moment. “Hey,” she murmurs, sitting up a bit and brushing Laura’s hair behind her ear, “talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Laura insists, but the words are thick, and okay, maybe her eyes are burning with tears. “I’m fine. I just—” The next breath she takes is more than a little shaky and Carmilla’s palm is so, so gentle against her cheek. “I missed you so much,” she chokes out, covering Carmilla’s hand with her own and sort of hating the hot drops of moisture she can feel coating their fingers. “I said those awful things and then you saved me and then you _died_ and—and you were dead, I thought you were dead, I thought…” She swallows hard. “I thought I was never going to see you again.”

Carmilla’s eyes bore into hers for an endless moment, then Carmilla takes the hand that’s against her own and laces their fingers, squeezing with a strength that somehow feels very human rather than supernatural. She brushes her thumb back and forth along Laura’s, and when she speaks, her voice is sincere and velvety. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, darling.”

A noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob drifts from her throat and she’s kissing Carmilla again and she’s relieved when Carmilla doesn’t stop her this time, but her lips are getting sloppier and her lungs are just not having it right now, and eventually she lets herself go slack against Carmilla and buries her sobs in Carmilla’s neck. “I thought you were dead,” she gasps between gulps of air, squeezing her eyes shut so she can drink in the feeling of this warm, _alive_ body below hers, and Carmilla’s arms surround her, hold her impossibly close as she cries.

“Shhhh,” Carmilla whispers in her ear, shifting onto her side so they’re facing each other, and begins a trail of barely-there kisses from her temple to the corner of her jaw. “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here,” she repeats over and over again.

Laura can feel her bottom lip quivering as she makes herself look Carmilla in the eye. “I’m so sorry I told you to leave,” she croaks. “All you’ve ever tried to do is save my life, and I didn’t—”

Carmilla’s fingertips press gently against her lips, then carefully trace along the small cut below her eye. “I don’t know about you, cupcake,” she murmurs, kissing the scar, “but I’m not sure I’m in the mood to talk about regrets right now.” She kisses one corner of Laura’s mouth, then the other. “I’d really rather just…”

Laura nods and the tiniest hint of a laugh drifts up her throat, and then they’re both leaning in and the kiss is slow and careful and it tastes like Laura’s tears until it doesn’t anymore, because then Carmilla’s tongue is sliding against hers and _god_ , this particular flavor is putting every soda, every chocolate chip cookie she’s ever consumed to shame.

She sighs into Carmilla’s mouth and thinks about the hot breath mixing with hers, about the soft hair between her fingers as she cups the back of Carmilla’s neck, and suddenly her lips are just a little more insistent. “You’re not dead,” she breathes, and when the strong arms bracketing her shoulders tighten their hold, she almost wants to cry again.

“No,” Carmilla agrees, planting a kiss on Laura’s cheek, “I’m not,” and another against her pulse point, but then her lips stall against Laura’s skin and the rest of her body gets very, very still.

Laura takes a moment to catch her breath. “Carm?” There are a few carefully measured exhales against her neck, but no response. “Carm, what is it?”

Carmilla slowly pulls back and her jaw muscle is working as she swallows hard. “It’s nothing,” she says quietly. “I just—I haven’t had any blood in… and I’m hungry.” Each word is surprisingly timid, like she’d rather not being saying them aloud. “Really hungry.”

“Oh.” Laura considers the myriad of mental images that flash behind her eyes, then shrugs. “Well, I mean… I have plenty, so—”

“That’s not going to happen,” Carmilla interrupts, her tone firm and serious even as she plays with a lock of Laura’s hair.

Laura tries to read the expression on Carmilla’s face. “Why not? You’ve already done it once.”

Carmilla shakes her head. “That was just a sip. Actually _feeding_ is… it’s entirely different. I won’t put you at risk like that.”

“Will you be okay? What if you have one of those seizures like when—?”

“When you kept me tied to your desk chair for a week and a half?” Carmilla finishes with a playful smirk, and her fingertips dance along the blush that fills Laura’s cheeks. “I was unconscious this time so I didn’t need as much energy. I should be fine for another twenty-four hours.” Her fingers brush against Laura’s temple and comb gently through her hair as if she’s fascinated by what she’s feeling. “With all of that in mind, however,” she says with one last peck on Laura’s lips, “perhaps we could take a break?”

Laura nods quickly and shifts to put a few inches between them, and she can’t help but notice Carmilla’s grimace as she sits up against Laura’s pillows. “So… are we ever actually going to talk about the fact that you’re hurt?”

“It’s nothing, cupcake,” she mutters, but she still looks way too stiff and Laura’s not buying it.

“Then you won’t mind if I take a look for myself?” Laura asks, not waiting for a reply before reaching down and lifting the bottom of Carmilla’s shirt, and she’s barely exposed Carmilla’s bellybutton before a pair of hands are gripping her wrists to stop their motion.

She expects Carmilla’s eyes to be angry when she looks up, but instead they’re anxious and even a little pleading.

“Laura,” she warns, but there’s no authority in the word, and after a long moment of Laura not backing down, she gives her a wary eye roll and slowly releases Laura’s wrists.

The first few bruises are small and faint and look harmless enough, but it’s the monstrous dark patch above them that has Laura’s fingers trembling.

“Carmilla, do you have broken _ribs_?”

“They’re fine,” she says quietly as she pulls her shirt back down, “they’ll be healed in a day or two.”

Laura pushes her own hair back out of her face and takes a deep, steadying breath. “Are you _sure_ you’re okay? I-I could ask Perry for some ice, or Ibuprofen, or…”

Carmilla’s hands cup her cheeks and pull her in for another kiss, and this one is maybe the deepest and sincerest so far. “I’m okay,” she purrs when it’s over, and Laura has to blink a few times to remember what they were even talking about.

“Okay,” she manages and licks her lips without really meaning to, and the way her eyes start to scan the rest of Carmilla’s body is sort of unintentional too, but—

“I’m okay,” Carmilla repeats, “I promise.”

Laura nods again then takes Carmilla’s hand and begins to play with her fingers because she’s not sure what else she can do without causing Carmilla pain.

Carmilla laces their fingers and squeezes, then waits for Laura to look her in the eye. “Come here,” she murmurs, guiding Laura down until her head is resting against Carmilla’s chest, and now she takes Laura’s arm and drapes it across her own stomach before covering it with her own.

“I’m not hurting you, am I?”

She can feel Carmilla shaking her head. “I’m starting to miss the good old days when all you did was whine about my bathroom filth.”

The corner of Laura’s mouth twitches and she lets herself relax into Carmilla’s embrace. “Betty’s a germaphobe.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Carmilla says, brushing her fingers through Laura’s hair, “you got your old roomie back.” There’s a small chuckle somewhere deep in her chest. “I was gone, Betty’s here… for a while, you had everything you wanted.”

Laura’s arm tightens around her waist. “Don’t be an idiot,” she mumbles.

Carmilla laughs again. “I believe that’s _my_ line, sweetheart.”

“Shut up.” She inhales deeply while Carmilla’s thumb wanders along her arm in lazy circles, and she’s glad the sleeves of her cardigan are hiding her goose-bumps. “God, you’re _alive_ ,” she whispers. “Even when Danny brought you in, I never thought—”

“What?” Carmilla interrupts.

Laura shrugs a little. “I-I don’t know, I guess I sort of assumed it was too good to be—”

“No, what was that about Danny?”

She can’t help but smile against Carmilla’s collarbone. “She carried you here after the Zetas found you,” Laura explains, not missing the way Carmilla’s fingers slow in her hair. “She’s also the one who described our epic battle with the Dean to my journalism audience, _and_ she even adjusted my Lit grade.”

Carmilla is silent for a long moment, but then she whistles and her motions against Laura’s scalp return to their normal speed. “Wow, who’s this Danny gal and when can I meet her?”

Laura gives Carmilla a playful smack, but then she gasps and her eyes widen. “Oh my gosh, I’m _so_ sorry. Are your ribs—?” She’s cut off by Carmilla’s hand removing itself from her hair and instead covering her mouth.

“If I sucked you dry right now, I wouldn’t have to tolerate your worrying anymore.”

A part of her begins to panic, but she somehow ends up just rolling her eyes instead, and Carmilla laughs and releases her hold.

“I’m starting to think living with a vampire has completely thwarted your ability to react rationally to danger.”

“What, am I supposed to be _scared_ of the person who risks everything to protect me over and over again?”

“Shut up.”

Laura tilts her head to kiss Carmilla on the cheek.


End file.
